1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container holder for use with utility vehicles configured to transport or transfer materials indoors or outdoors.
2. Description of the Related Art
A utility vehicle typically comprises a drive means such as an engine, riders' seats, a metal cabin frame, wheels, etc. To enable a rider to easily carry out various tasks utility vehicles are generally not equipped with a car body portion and car body components such as front and side windows in an area forward of and lateral of a driver's seat,. As in a typical automobile, the utility vehicle is desirably equipped with a container holder in which a water container, a water bottle, etc., is placed to enable a rider or a passenger to drink water or something freely.
The general automobile is equipped with a container holder mounted as a part of in-vehicle components to, for example, an instrument panel section, a center console section, or a door panel section.
In recent years, in order to reduce a turning radius, utility vehicles of smaller sizes have been manufactured, and their wheelbase, i.e., distance between front wheels and rear wheels, tends to be reduced. For this reason, utility vehicles have a limited inner space in a driver's seat section. As shown in FIG. 1B, a shift lever 21, a drive system shift lever 22, a differential gear unit locking/unlocking lever 23, a speedometer 24, etc., are mounted to an instrument panel section 25. If a container holder is mounted to the limited inner space of the driver's seat section, for example, a lower portion of a center portion of the instrument panel section 25, the rider or the passenger may be forced to change a posture or a view point by stretching an arm to reach a container in the container holder or otherwise by looking downward at the container holder. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2003-276494 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 6582002 disclose an operating machine vehicle and a golf cart which do not have an upper body (roof portion) and which are provided with a container holder.
However, there has not yet been disclosed a vehicle optimized for efficient use of a limited space of a driver's seat, which enables a rider to put a container into a container holder or take it out of the container holder without substantially changing driving posture and view point.